


Slurs

by AmaranthPrincess21



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Drama, F/M, Literature, fan fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-23
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-08 15:23:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5502746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaranthPrincess21/pseuds/AmaranthPrincess21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A day turns horrible when you find that your school's been vandalized.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Slurs

**Author's Note:**

> **I'm not trying to say I have it the worst out of everybody because I don't.** This piece is only reflecting how I feel and pointing out certain aspects as racism. So I don't want anyone thinking I'm trying to say that I am the world's most unfortunate cupcake, because I'm not. 

You simply couldn’t believe this was happening. A numbness had seeped into your system and refused to leave when you heard the news. That had been hours ago and yet you still couldn’t feel anything. Your ringtone seemed to play nonstop as your phone kept ringing and ringing, but you let it go to voicemail every single time. There was no way you wanted to talk to anybody right now. Not with what had just happened.

At first, you thought the day was going to be just another boring day at Mitras High. You woke up, got dressed, and while fixing yourself some cocoa for breakfast you listened to the news. Someone, or some people, had gone onto your school’s campus that night and had put graffiti all over the lockers. The anchors didn’t say much about what the graffiti said, only revealing that they were racial slurs. _God, why would you do that,_ you thought, sitting down at the table with your two cousins, who you lived with. Even though this thing was pretty predictable, you still felt rather shocked. Mitras had a reputation for being incredibly racist. After all, this was a place where some idiot had a Confederate flag hanging from their truck and some families hung those flags above their homes. Even though you were just fifteen, you’d seen enough to be cynical of the atmosphere around you in Mitras. You held most people in town in contempt but you were just surprised by the audacity of these vandals and the fact that they most likely went to school with you. 

But from there, everything had seemed normal. Your aunt had driven you and your cousins to school and dropped you off. Levi, your junior boyfriend, had met you by the cafeteria and with what little pre-class time you had you hung out with him and his friends. 

And then PE happened.  

Levi was your class' TA, so he’d walk with you to the gym. But when you met up with him, he was glued to his phone and edgy, agitated at every little movement you made. 

“What’s wrong?” you asked him after he had given his phone a particularly dirty look.

“I’m trying to figure out who vandalized the lockers,” Levi replied. “At first I thought it was Farlan but then the whole racist thing doesn’t fit him, especially since it’s anti-Mexican and he’s not a self-hating racist, and -”

“Wait, _what?”_ you squeaked. Levi stopped in his tracks and from the look in his eyes, you knew he had made a mistake. 

“Forget I said it,” he began, but you gave him a dark look.

“If someone’s racist against me and the other Mexicans in town I will fucking tear them to shreds,” you said heatedly.

“I know, and you’ll have back up from Farlan and I, we’re livid as fuck, but we can do that later,” he pointed out. 

“No, I wanna find this bitch and fucking -”

“I _know,_ [First]. And I will keep looking through my contacts and find the asshole or assholes. I doubt it’s anyone in my gang but we’re going to keep looking. We might be thugs but we aren’t going to tolerate racism,” he said. When you didn’t reply, he shoved his phone into his pocket and started walking to class. “I’m going to beat the shit out of whoever did this, I promise.”

“That’s not going to make it completely better, but I have to admit it will probably make me feel a little better,” you told him. “I just . . . It hurts. I have to deal with my dad’s side of the family not wanting to acknowledge the fact we’re Mexican and their brand of racism and now this isn’t helping at all.”

“The police will find whoever did this and they’ll get reeducated, whether it’s through me or through a tolerance group,” he said. _And I hope they pay dearly for what they’ve done._ PE had been worse than usual. As hard as you tried to immerse yourself in working out, you couldn’t help but wonder what exactly the graffiti said and who would do such a thing. You were always careful around others, but with this blatant hate act you couldn't help but shy away from your classmates; they were all suspects. 

Farlan was hanging around the locker rooms when you came out, deep in discussion with Levi. Both looked concerned, heads bent together and clearly speaking in hushed tones. _Shit, what happened?_

“Levi? Farlan? Is everything all right?” you asked, approaching the two. Farlan murmured something and walked off, not ever bothering to greet you or give you a proper goodbye.

“Yeah, of course. Listen, you want to go on a date after school?” Levi inquired as his hand grabbed yours and started pulling you towards the junior parking lot. “We can go over to Stohess and go shopping downtown and then have dinner.”

“What? Levi, I don’t think my mom will let me go out on such short notice. And where are we even going?” you asked. 

“We’re going off campus for lunch. We’re gonna go to McDonald’s over by the lake,” he said.

“Isn’t that cutting it close? We only have thirty minutes for lunch,” you pointed out

“We’ll go through the drive-thru and chill in the car,” he said. “I won’t make you late. But as I was saying -”

“Levi, what’s going on?” you demanded, making him stop outside of his car. “What’s with all of this ‘let’s get out of here’ talk? You never talk like this. What’s wrong?” He sighed and unlocked his van, motioning for you to get in the back with him.

“The vandals turned themselves in,” Levi informed you. “One of them was your older cousin.”

                

That had been hours ago. You’d bolted out of Levi’s car after that and simply avoided him and everyone else the rest of the day. And now you were here, home alone with your other cousin who had barricaded himself in his room, unwilling to talk to you or anyone else; no doubt he was shocked his older brother had done such a horrific thing. Your mother was at work and God knew where your aunt and uncle were. Probably getting your older cousin out of holding, or wherever they took people when they got arrested. You two had been raised together and for him to contribute to such terrible things was worse than a slap in the face. It was like someone had cut out your organs with a steak knife. 

The laminate flooring outside your bedroom creaked and your bedroom door was thrown open. Levi was clutching his phone, irritation and anger contorting his face.

“Why the fuck aren’t you answering your phone?!” he demanded, shutting the door behind him and plopping down onto the floor in front of you. “I’ve been calling you for the past hour and a half.”

“I just don’t feel like talking to anyone right now,” you shrugged. “I’m sorry I made you worry.” He exhaled sharply before sitting down on the ground beside you. 

“It’s not a big deal,” he said. “I just wanted to know if I could come over and if you were okay.”

“I guess this answers your question,” you replied with a weak chuckle. 

“I have a full tank of gas. You want to go shop away your feelings in Stohess?” You shrugged. 

“I don’t know. I don’t really feel like doing anything  but I don’t want to be here when everyone gets home,” you told him. You took in a shaky breath. “I have to deal with being cut off from my dad’s side of the family. I don’t even _know_ about my heritage other than I’m Mexican. But because my dad and his siblings refuse to accept that part of them I have no way of tracing my lineage or learning about anything specific  to my family. I’m barred from learning about it. I am constantly told by complete strangers that I can’t be Mexican because I don’t look like it. I have people telling me racist things to my face and belittling me because surely I’m not _really_ Mexican. I am cut off from my family and heritage and I’m constantly belittled because of it. And then to have someone I love and trust contribute to the racism? On my mom’s side of the family that’s more tolerant, no less. I don’t know what to do and I don’t think I can do this.” You choked out a sob. “I don’t feel like I belong anywhere and I feel like everyone’s shitting on my heritage and the fact I take pride in who I am and I’m sick of it.”

Levi remained silent, eyes fixed on your tear-strained face. “And then my aunt and uncle are going to start screaming at my cousin again and he’s going to yell and everyone’s going to be screaming and I know he deserves it this time around, but whenever they yell I feel like my body shuts down and I can’t breathe. I don’t want to stay here and I don’t ever want to see him again, not after what he’s done. I just don’t want to be here.” 

“I honestly don’t know what to say other than it sucks your family is so fucked up,” he began after a long pause. “I’m sorry you’ve had to go through this and I’ll keep helping people fight against racism, but I don’t know what to do in this situation other than get you out of here for a bit. Your house is going to be toxic as fuck and considering the things you’ve told me, you shouldn’t be here right now. I know your mom isn’t going to want you to stay with me, but we can lie and say you’re at Isabel’s, or something. But I don’t think  you should be here while this is going on.”

“I don’t want to be here either,” you said. Levi opened his mouth to speak when the garage door opened, the noise rumbling through the house. Fear struck through your system almost immediately and you bolted for your window, popping out the screen and escaping onto your backyard. Levi was hot on your heels, calling after you. His hand grabbed you arm and he pulled you towards the side of the house. 

“Let’s go,” he said.

As you two drove away, you didn’t look back once.


End file.
